Unsplash/Rashid Khreiss
Lebanon’s bondholders have hired US investment bank Houlihan Lokey as financial adviser for eventual debt talks, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Lebanon has been engulfed in a severe economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, which prompted a sovereign default in 2020.
In early February, the country formed a new government with Nawaf Salam as prime minister, spurring hopes that the country might make progress to emerge from its protracted default.
Houlihan declined to comment.
Half a dozen firms pitched to the ad hoc group of bondholders in a process that saw Houlihan and GSA shortlisted, according to one of the sources.
Lebanon has Eurobonds with a face value of $31.3 billion outstanding. The debt trades at deeply distressed levels of around 16-17 cents in the dollar, according to Tradeweb data.
